Turn that light off – don’t you know there’s a recession on!

I have started taking financial advice from seven year olds! Yesterday I spent a lovely hour working with the eco-committee at my children’s primary school.

This year’s priority is to try to cut the school’s energy bills. The first job is to encourage teachers to switch off lights in empty classrooms and corridors and only switch on those they actually need.

Astonishingly this alone could save the school £7,000 a year from it’s annual £18,000 electricity bill! I joined the tour of the school looking for possible light switching off opportunities with a healthy scepticism, especially as it was approaching three o’clock and the gloom was rolling in across the playground.

But, guided and encouraged by our man from the council, we discovered the joys of mood lighting! By pulling up venetian blinds (yes, like shares they can go up as well as down) and lighting the area furthest away from the window rather than, as one teacher admitted doing, turning every light on at once without even thinking about it the moment you walk into a room, you can halve the number of lights you turn on and actually enjoy more natural light.

Do try this at home! The Energy Saving Trust have some great advice, and some scary statistics to motivate us. Let me know how you get on – next stop – the bathroom radiator – lovely as that hot towel is do you really need it available twenty four hours a day, just on the off chance!

Welcome to the KidStart blog for great articles on everything from family life to saving tips. KidStart is a free shopping club that enables parents to top up their children’s savings whilst they shop online with one of 1500 retailers. All you have to do is sign up, shop and save. Give your children a KidStart in life.